Bishop Kemme sent an email to the priests saying, “With great joy and profound gratitude to God, I join the universal Church in celebrating the election of our new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV. Born Robert Francis Prevost, our new Pope brings with him a remarkable blend of pastoral wisdom, deep missionary experience, and devoted service to the Church. As an Augustinian friar and the first American-born Pope, he has served the people of God across cultures and continents—from his roots in Chicago to the missions of Peru, and more recently in the heart of the Vatican, as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops. His years of work as a bishop in Peru and as Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine have shaped in him a shepherd’s heart—one that listens, serves, and leads with humility. His recent role overseeing the appointment of bishops worldwide has shown his deep care for the future of the Church. We now look to him, our new Vicar of Christ, with faith and filial devotion. May Pope Leo XIV guide the Church in the light of the Holy Spirit, with courage, compassion, and fidelity to the Gospel.”
Today is the feast of the apparitions of St. Michael the archangel. It marks both that event and all his apparitions at Monte Gargano, which lies the little town of Monte Sant’Angelo, a 30-minute drive from San Giovanni Rotondo, where Padre Pio was from.
In this beautiful, town is a shrine located in a small cave. The cave constitutes the only church in the world not consecrated by human hands. Why wouldn’t we consecrate this place like every other church? The reason is that St. Michael did it himself. The traditions surrounding the founding of this shrine include four apparitions of St. Michael, including the earliest appearance of him in the Western world.
In the 5th century, he appeared to a local lord from nearby Siponto who had lost a bull in a cave. The man shot an arrow to scare the bull out of the cave, but the arrow came back and struck the lord. St. Michael appeared to the local bishop to request that the cave be consecrated.
The bishop did not obey immediately, perhaps doubting the vision’s veracity.
The second vision of the Archangel occurred when Siponto was threatened by invaders. He saved the town, an event that is commemorated on May 8th.
St. Michael appeared a third time—to the same bishop—to reiterate his request. The bishop at last acquiesced, and was told by St. Michael that the cave didn’t need to be consecrated because the Archangel had already done it himself. Legend says that he even left his footprint in the rock of the cave!
St. Michael made one last appearance in 1656, when he spared the townspeople from a plague that had struck southern Italy. He told the bishop that whoever kept stones from the cave would be protected from the plague.
To this day, pilgrims flock to the town to visit the grotto. Many popes and saints have visited it, including St. Francis of Assisi, who wouldn’t enter it because he felt unworthy. The stones of the cave—which have been used effectively in exorcisms—are now relics that you can obtain for spiritual and physical protection.
Today is also the feast of Our Lady of Pompeii. In October 1872, a man named Bartolo Longo, came to the valley. He was the husband of the Countess of Fusco, who had some property there; and Bartolo, a baptized Catholic came to see what condition it was in. Fallen away from the Church, he became a satanic priest.
But, October 9th, a few days after his arrival, he was walking along a rather desolate road when suddenly a voice seemed to speak to him. It told him that if he wished to be saved, he should spread devotion to the Rosary and that the Blessed Virgin had promised, that was the way to find salvation. Bartolo fell on his knees and replied that if the Virgin had truly so promised then he would be saved; he would not leave the valley until he had popularized the Rosary and the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary. He went to Confession to a priest.
His early efforts to interest the people in the Rosary devotion do not seem to have been very successful, but he persisted, and in two or three years he had gathered quite a group around him for daily recitation of the prayers in the little chapel. The bishop visited the valley in 1875, and complimented Bartolo on the good work he had done. He suggested that a church be built there and then, turning prophet, the Bishop pointed to a field near the chapel and declared that someday a basilica would stand on that spot. As the number of people taking part in the daily recitation of the Rosary grew, it was decided to obtain a picture of the Blessed Virgin, to help the faithful meditate as they prayed. On October 13, 1875, Bartolo went to Naples to see if he could find a suitable picture, he reluctantly accepted a secondhand painting from a junk store for five lire. A trucker, not knowing what the package contained, pitched it on top of a load of garbage and manure and this is how the picture arrived at the chapel.
The people were pleased with the dilapidated picture and enshrined it. He eventually had the picture re-painted. Almost immediately several miracles took place through Mary’s intercession. A church was built, 1876-1891 and a new basilica, 1934-1939, ordered by Pope Pius XI. Today is the anniversary of laying the foundation stone for building the Church. Later Bartolo Longo would give the Church the 54 day Rosary novena due to an apparition that a woman had and he began to promote. Bartolo Longo was beatified in 1980, and this year he will be canonized.
Today, there is hope that the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary, Our Lady of Pompeii and St. Michael will intercede for the new pope and the Church. Let us pray the Rosary every day and pray the St. Michael prayer asking the archangel to intercede for the pope and the Church.
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